Iran Executes 'Mossad Agent' in Sistan-Baluchistan

A handout picture provided by the Iranian Army office on December 10, 2023, shows Iranian army officials inspecting Iranian homemade Karrar drones displayed next to a banner reading in Persian "Death to Israel" during an inauguration ceremony in Tehran. (Photo by Handout / Iranian Army office / AFP)
A handout picture provided by the Iranian Army office on December 10, 2023, shows Iranian army officials inspecting Iranian homemade Karrar drones displayed next to a banner reading in Persian "Death to Israel" during an inauguration ceremony in Tehran. (Photo by Handout / Iranian Army office / AFP)
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Iran Executes 'Mossad Agent' in Sistan-Baluchistan

A handout picture provided by the Iranian Army office on December 10, 2023, shows Iranian army officials inspecting Iranian homemade Karrar drones displayed next to a banner reading in Persian "Death to Israel" during an inauguration ceremony in Tehran. (Photo by Handout / Iranian Army office / AFP)
A handout picture provided by the Iranian Army office on December 10, 2023, shows Iranian army officials inspecting Iranian homemade Karrar drones displayed next to a banner reading in Persian "Death to Israel" during an inauguration ceremony in Tehran. (Photo by Handout / Iranian Army office / AFP)

Iran on Saturday executed a man who was sentenced to death after being convicted of working with Israel's intelligence services, the judiciary said.

"The death sentence was carried out this morning against a spy of the Zionist regime in Zahedan prison" in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan, the judiciary's Mizan Online website said.

According to AFP, it did not identify the man but said he had been convicted of "intelligence cooperation and espionage for the benefit for the hostile Zionist regime (Israel)".

He was also found guilty of "collecting and providing classified information to the Mossad spy service with the aim of disrupting public order", Mizan added.

It was not immediately clear when or where the man was arrested or put on trial.

Iran has previously announced the arrests of alleged agents working for foreign countries, including Israel, its regional arch-foe.

In December 2022, Iran hanged four people who had been convicted of collaborating with Israel's intelligence services.

Tehran accuses Israel of carrying out a wave of sabotage attacks and assassinations targeting its nuclear program.

The United States and Israel accuse Iran of using drones and missiles to attack US forces and Israel-linked ships in the Gulf.

According to human rights groups, including Amnesty International, Iran executes more people per year than any other nation except China.



Trump, China’s Xi Hold Call on TikTok, Trade, Taiwan

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Asheville, NC, Aug. 14, 2024. (AP)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Asheville, NC, Aug. 14, 2024. (AP)
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Trump, China’s Xi Hold Call on TikTok, Trade, Taiwan

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Asheville, NC, Aug. 14, 2024. (AP)
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Asheville, NC, Aug. 14, 2024. (AP)

US President-elect Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed issues including TikTok, trade and Taiwan in a phone call on Friday, just days before Trump takes office again promising tariffs that could ratchet up tensions between the world's two biggest economies.

Both leaders were upbeat about the call, with Trump calling it "a very good one" and Xi saying he and Trump both hoped for a positive start to US-China relations, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

It was the first phone call between the pair since Trump's election in November. There is an array of looming diplomatic and economic difficulties facing US-China relations.

The US Supreme Court on Friday upheld a law that mandates TikTok owner ByteDance divest TikTok's US assets by Sunday to a non-Chinese buyer, or be banned on national security concerns.

"The call was a very good one for both China and the USA. It is my expectation that we will solve many problems together, and starting immediately. We discussed balancing Trade, Fentanyl, TikTok, and many other subjects," Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform.

"President Xi and I will do everything possible to make the World more peaceful and safe!"

Xi raised China's concerns about Taiwan, which Beijing maintains is part of its territory, and said he hoped the US will handle it with great care.

"The Taiwan issue concerns China's national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and he hopes the US side will handle it with caution," according to CCTV.

Xi said the United States and China can have their differences but most respect each other's core interests, and that trade relations can be mutually beneficial without confrontation and conflict, comments similar to those he made during Trump's first term.

Trump offered strong support to Taiwan, including regularizing arms sales, in his first term. But during the campaign last year, Trump said Taiwan should pay the US to be defended.

The Republican president-elect, who upended trade relations in his first term, is about to embark on an even more aggressive effort in his second term, pledging to impose 10% duties on all US imports and 60% on goods from China.

Trump said on Jan. 6 that he and Xi have been communicating through representatives, expressing optimism about their relationship.